One body of Chinese miner recovered

The unidentified man was found as the number of miners trapped in the accident was revised from 102 to 123.

Rescuers, who have pumped out more than 20 million cubic meters of water, found the body this morning, said An Yuanjie, spokeswoman for the central government's State Administration of Work Safety, which took over rescue efforts from local authorities at the Xingning mine in Guangdong province.

"We'll continue the rescue effort as long as there is hope but we are quickly losing hope," An was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

There was no word on the fate of the others, trapped by the flooding whose source officials said was unknown, making it impossible for rescuers to stop the flow and bring water levels down.

Only four miners managed to escape when the tunnel, 480 metres (1,575 feet) underground, became flooded on Sunday.